Trimming the Tree

I had about given up on putting up a Christmas tree this year. With six-week-old twins, the sleep deficit that I had acquired made survival seem like a near impossibility, much less anything as frivolous as putting up a Christmas tree. However, thanks to some amazing friends and family who took over the night shift this last week/weekend, we were able to catch up on some sleep (Thanks Mandy, Ursi, Meghan, mom and dad!!! You saved my sanity, and I'm not kidding!) After some sleep and a few days home alone with the babies where they did really good, the world seemed a little bit brighter...so Friday afternoon, we put on our Christmas outfits

and trimmed the tree. This picture only shows lights, but I promise we eventually got ornaments on it, too. (By we, I mean me. My kids are over-achievers, and all, but they haven't quite got the motor skills to decorate a Christmas tree.)

Ashley did get a little fussy, but I put her in the Moby wrap, and we were good to go.

I have to give some credit to my mom and Jill, too. They came over on Friday morning, helped out with the babies and laundry and let me sleep in. Thanks!!! I'm so happy that we didn't have to skip a Christmas tree for the babies first Christmas. What a blessed year it is to have these two little ones!

Ready for a Jog

This was the first outfit that I bought for either of my babies. Too cute, isn't it?

Tiny Houdini

Ashley has an amazing ability to work her way out of anything. We have these SwaddleMe blankets that Velcro. I swaddled her just as tight or tighter than her brother, and I saw her trying to work her little hands out the top. Next thing I know, I turn around and this is what I see. We've taken to calling her our Houdini. Also, apparently Tyler can sleep through anything, even the occasional whop from his sisters flailing arms...poor guy. Brent was a little mad that mom and I didn't step in, and stop her from getting him sooner, but we did eventually.

My Little Cuties

Here are just a few of the other pics that we've taken of our little angels. This first one is one of my favorites. I call it "Kissing Sister." It's just so cute to see these little beans together.


Here are our little babies getting checked out by our pediatrician right after they were born. We love Dr. Albiek!!! We also feel really blessed that our babies didn't need any special care when they were born...so many twins are not that lucky, but ours were healthy from the get-go. We have had little bumps along the way with jaundice and weight gain issues, but we know how blessed we are that we haven't had anything more serious.

Here are the grandmas. It's nice with twins...one for each.

These are my two little ones down for the night. How cute!!!

I took this picture in the hospital. This is Ashley lying right next to me. This was one of those moments that I felt so blessed. What did we do to deserve such amazing little children...nothing, but we got them anyway. Thank you, Lord!

Many more to come, as I get the chance...

Brand New Babies

I have a million pictures to post of my beautiful new babies. Thought I would start with this one. This was taken still in the operating room where I had my C-section. Ashley was 4 minutes old and Tyler was 2 minutes old. More pictures and blogging to come, but I'm off to feed the babies right now.

Our Final Ultrasound

I had my final ultrasound yesterday, and we actually got a couple of pictures of Ashley. It was Tyler that hid his face this time. Apparently, his head is tucked behind his sisters now. But here is our cute little Ashley.

And here is a second one of Ashley.

Both babies looked good, but they are crammed in there. I'm starting to feel sorry for them. They weren't able to really get good measurements on Tyler, so we are guessing at how big he's going to be. Ashley's measurements weren't that great either, but we think they were a little more accurate, and they estimated her to be 5lbs. 13ozs. We can't wait to see what they weigh when they are born.

I have had to have 3 shots to stop contractions, but they will not be giving me any more, so when I go into labor, we'll do a c-section, and have two little babies. At the end of the appointment, I asked the doctor if he was a betting man, when he would bet these babies would come. He said he thought it would be in the next week, and said if he had to pick a day, it would be next Monday or Tuesday, so we may get to meet these little ones very soon. If they don't come before November 9th, I have a scheduled c-section for that day, so we will be parents in 2 1/2 weeks or less. I can't wait! The next pictures I post of these little guys will be the real deal, no more ultrasounds. Yippee!!!

My Shy Little (Not Really So Little) Babies

I had another ultrasound today, but neither Tyler nor Ashley would smile for the camera. Ashley was obstructed by Tyler's legs (it's getting tight in there), and Tyler was facing the wrong way. The only pic that I got was this little one of Tyler's foot.

Apparently, my twins didn't get the memo that they are supposed to be smaller than your average baby. As of today, Ashley weighs 4 lbs. 5 ozs. and Tyler weighs 5 lbs. 10 ozs. My mom pointed out that Tyler now weighs more than my brother Toby did at birth! It's a little crazy that I'm carrying around basically 10 lbs of baby at this point, but I'm happy that they are both healthy and growing well. Ashley is still breach and in the lower position, while Tyler has moved a little more vertex. The doctors doubt that they will change position dramatically at this point, so it looks like this will be a C-section birth. If I make it to November 10th (38 weeks), we will do a scheduled C-section then, but the doctor today said he doubted I would make it that long. So, it looks like we will have two little (or not so little) babies in 6 weeks or less. Can't wait to meet these little guys face to face!!!

Little Bundle of Joy

We finally got to meet our new goddaughter yesterday. Her name is Joy, and there couldn't be a more perfect choice! As many of you know, my best friend Ursi, just got back from Pennsylvania last week. They had spent three weeks there waiting for the interstate compact to go through, so that they could bring their new adopted daughter home to Oklahoma.

The adoption process was not always easy on our dear friends, but seeing Joy in Ursi's arms, and hearing Ursi talk about her, made me know that the Lord had brought the right baby to them. What a blessing!

I know I'm biased as a godmother, but Joy is such a cutie!!! We can't wait to watch her grow!!!

Can You Touch Your Foot to Your Forehead?

My son can. We had our latest ultrasound yesterday. The babies are doing well. The funniest picture that we got was this one. That is Tyler's foot next to his face. We were watching the ultrasound, and Brent asked the doctor if that was Tyler's foot. Sure enough it was, and the doctor tried to get us a good picture of it. He asked Brent if he could do that....the answer is: not without serious injury. :)
They are estimating that Ashley weighs 2lbs. 14ozs., and Tyler weighs 3lbs. 11ozs. Yes, that's close to 7lbs. of baby that I am now carrying around. The girl who did the ultrasound kindly pointed out that if I was just having a single baby, this would be the end, but instead I've got two months or more to go. Yikes!

We were a little concerned about the disparity in the babies weights, but the doctor said not to worry. He said they are both developing appropriately, have plenty of fluid, and look great. With fraternal twins, they just have a different genetic make-up, so they are going to develop differently.

I have my next ultrasound in three weeks. Can't wait to see these guys again!

My Little Angels

I had another ultrasound today. I love with twins being able to see them so much!

We didn't get as good of pics as we've gotten before, but I've posted them all. We did get the best ones yet of Ashley.

This is Tyler. He's on the right and you can see his little profile.

It was precious, while we were watching him on the 4D, he was opening and closing his mouth. It was too cute!

This last one Tyler is my favorite of him. How precious!

And here is Ashley. She's on the left, and you can barely make out her little profile. See her cute nose?

This one is not quite as clear, but here she is again.

Tyler weighed 2 lbs. 2 ozs. and Ashley weighed 1 lb. 12 ozs. Ashley is right on schedule, and Tyler is a little big. Also, they had both turned, Ashley is now breach at the bottom, and Tyler is fully transverse across the top. We will see if that's how they stay. I love you, little guys!!!

Belly Bump

This picture was taken one week ago. Yes, I really am not due until November. I'm a little scared to see how big I will be by then. But honestly, I love my growing belly, which reminds me daily of how blessed I am to have two amazing babies on the way.
By the way, Brent and I attended our childbirth class this weekend. All of the other girls were due in September or October, and I was bigger than all of them. Ok, there was one girl due September 5th that was about the same size as me. Turns out two babies take up a lot of space!

Tenth Anniversary

Last weekend, Brent and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. In some ways, I can't believe that we have been married that long, and in other ways, I can't really remember life before Brent. There is something that makes me feel really old, though, to celebrate a 10th anniversary.

We had said for years that we would take a Mediterranean cruise for our 10th anniversary, but we decided to have two babies instead. Though Greece and Italy would have been nice, we have no regrets about the decision. So, we stayed in OKC, and decided to do the things we don't normally do, living here. On Friday night, we went down and ate dinner at Mickey Mantle's. The food was yummy, and I stuffed myself...appetizer, soup, entree, sides and dessert. On Saturday, we went back down to Bricktown, and played the tourists. We rode the canal boats. Both of us were impressed with the improvements that they have done to Bricktown. It had been a while since we had looked around. This Devon Mosaic at the start of the canal is really impressive.

And the land run statues and park area is looking really nice. It made me think that when the weather is a little cooler, I need to take a book and blanket down there and relax.

In addition to the canal boats, we walked around Bricktown, stopped at the new Bricktown Candy Company for a drink, and ate dinner at Zio's. My body was definitely warn out by the end of our adventure...as you can see, I'm carrying around two babies!

It was a very enjoyable weekend, and even more a great time to reflect on how lucky I am to be married to an amazing man, that I still love so much 10 years later. Brent is kind, funny, sensitive, loving, self-sacrificing, and a man of amazing integrity...and I am a very lucky woman!

Tyler Poses for the Camera again...but not Ashley

We had our latest ultrasound on Wednesday. I love that we are having twins for many reasons, but one of them is that we are going to get a lot of ultrasounds. How fun to see our babies! Ashley had her back to us again, so they didn't get any good pics of her, but they did get some of Tyler. Here is our favorite!
He's starting to look so much like a baby. It's so exciting! At this appointment they said that Ashley weighed 14 ozs. and Tyler weighed 1 lb. 2 ozs. That puts Ashley right where expected and Tyler bigger than expected. We told the doctor that they are going to run out of room soon. He said, "Oh, they'll make room." Yikes! I'm already gigantic. I need to get a new battery for my camera, but when I do, I will post some pictures of me, so that you can see how fast I'm growing. The appropriate word again - Yikes!

Tyler Allen and Ashley Ann

We found out today that we are having one boy and one girl. We are so excited! They are healthy, and looking great! It is nice with twins, because our ultrasounds are done by a specialist. We were in the ultrasound room for about an hour and half, and almost the entire time, we were watching our cute little babies on the screen. Also, they check for every possible thing, showing us the kidneys, and the stomach, and the femur, etc... They also have latest equipment, including 4D ultrasounds. How fun!

Here is a cute little picture of Tyler. He has one little hand covering his eye and one on his cheek. Too cute!

Ashley wasn't feeling as photogenic, so they couldn't really get a good head shot of her, but they were able to get this shot of the two of them together. My two little babies...I love you!!!

Niki's Wedding

We went to Waco this weekend for my cousin's wedding. Brent and I were excited to go and visit our old stomping ground, and although, we have been to a number of Brent's cousins' weddings, for one reason or another, this is the first of my cousins' weddings that we have been able to go to, so we were very excited. It was so nice to be able to see family. We were able to go out to a dinner with my dad, Toby and Karla, and my Uncle Karl and Aunt Lynn, which was fun.

The battery has died on our camera, so I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I took a few on my iPhone. Here was our row at the wedding...my dad, Aunt Lynn, Uncle Karl, Karla, Toby, and me (you can actually see the twins in my growing belly more than me).
The church in which the wedding was held was absolutely gorgeous, and you can't see too well in this picture, but Niki looked amazaing.

I didn't get any pictures of reception hall, though it was a really great venue as well. It was so nice to spend some time with family, even if the time was short, and we did get to visit the Baylor campus as well, and take a trip down memory lane. A fun trip!

Trip to Washington, D.C.

We got to take a somewhat unexpected...or at least, planned at the last minute, trip to Washington, D.C. two weekends ago. Brent's parents had never been to D.C., and so we wanted to go with them, and it worked out that my grandparents were staying at the American Christian Trust House of Prayer, and there was room for us to stay with them. We originally did not think that I would be able to go on the trip, because of the complications of my pregnancy, but my doctor cleared me...saying I am far enough along now that I can resume regular pregnancy activity.

We didn't take the greatest pictures of the trip, but here are a few. Brent next to the Easter Island head that is at the Natural History Museum. We were able to see three of the Smithsonian Museums - Air and Space, Natural History and American History.

Here is Brent on the mall with the Capital in the background.

Brent's family in the Senate prayer chapel in the Capital.

And my grandparents with their friend Ruth Mizell in the Senate prayer chapel. We did not think that we were going to be able to tour the Capital, because we had planned the trip last minute, and there were no more public tour tickets available. We were incredibly blessed though the last day, when a friend of my grandparents, Ruth Mizell, who was the wife of a former congressman, gave us a personal tour. Security was tight because the Israeli prime minister was at the Capital that day, but we got into the Capital, and got to see some things not normally on the tour, including this Senate prayer chapel.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip. I took it easy because of the pregnancy, so I stayed back at the house some, but in addition to the things above, Brent and his family also saw the Washington monument, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Arlington Cemetery and Library of Congress...and I went with them to a service at the National Cathedral and to the Archives as well, to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.

We also didn't get any pictures of my cousin Christi-Anna and her husband Jeff, but they were able to come up for a portion of the time that we were there from their home in Virginia. It was so wonderful to see them, particularly because Christi-Anna is also pregnant. My grandparents were excited to get a visit from their first 3 great-grandchildren!

What a wonderful trip! Thanks to mom and dad and grandmother and grandad for making it possible!

Latest Ultrasound

I've been a little slow in posting these...they are from last Thursday. We got to see our little beans again, and they are doing great! Here is Twin A:


And here is Twin B. He/she was moving around so much that the doctor had a hard time getting a good picture and measuring the heartbeat. It was so cute!

Things have been a little scary, because the week before last they found a blood clot in my uterus. This is apparently not all that uncommon, and while it will usually resolve itself, the doctor is having me take it really easy...limit my activity as much as possible. Any prayers welcome!

We're Having Twins!!!

We can't believe it! I'm pregnant with twins! We are so excited. Here are our first ultrasound pictures. There's not a lot to make out, but you can see there are two.

Here is a picture of "Twin A"

And here is "Twin B"

While they are still so tiny, so there is not much to see, we did get to see their little heartbeats. It was so precious. The due date is November 24th, though twins are expected to come atleast a few weeks early. We are ecstatic!

Trip to Mexico - Part IV

We spent a couple nights on the beach, watching the sunset. That's one of the things that makes the Pacific side of Mexico so great. It's tough to beat the sun setting over the ocean.

Some the flowers were gorgeous. I had to try to get a picture of this long row of bugambilias. It doesn't quite do them justice, but you get the idea.

Here we are right before we got in the taxi to go to the airport to fly home. I want to go back!

Trip to Mexico - Part III

One of our favorite meals in Mexico was at a restaurant in Zihuatanejo, called La Cala, which means, the cove. The tables overlook a gorgeous cove where the waves crash against the rocks.
Karla and I set on the end of the table, and we were literally less than a foot from the wall that drops down to the cove.

I had shrimp tortilla soup and scallop pasta that were amazing, and you can't beat the sound of waves crashing during dinner.

Toby and Brent decided to build a sand castle one day. I think their effort was pretty impressive.

It lasted all day, but the nighttime waves eventually washed it away.